Breaking down the expenses to your upcoming movie

Film Budget

Already completed your film budget? Got a budget?

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Type of film

Most scriptwriters and filmmakers already have a clear idea of what type of film their script requires, for example, is it written as a big-budget major motion picture or a small budget indie film?

A few major aspects that can help determine the type of budget your scripts require; including set locations, special effects, popular actors/actresses and the equipment you require to shoot to name a few. Having these film requirements laid out from the start will help you break down your budget.

Script breakdown

The number of pages of your script that you plan to shoot for each planned day of production can help you to determine your overall film budget. Although there are no set number of pages that you can shoot per day, you can roughly estimate this by the type of film.

On average a major motion picture shoots one page per day, an indie film with a substantial budget can shoot from three to six per day and a very low budget film could shoot over seven. Potential film investors will find an accurate budget plan more desirable!

Cast and crew

Within your budget, you must account for the salary and fees which you pay to your film crew, cast and extras. These figures can be calculated with the above method of breaking down your film production days on a page by page basis.

The leading actors and actresses will also need a salary which can be calculated by their daily rate multiplied by how many pages and scenes they appear in throughout the script. Film crew can also be determined by this daily rate

Post production

Pre-production can cost little to nothing depending on the type of film you are producing where as production and post-production will take up the bulk of your film budget. During post-production you will need to consider any visual and sound effects that your film will need.

Do you need to hire a CGI company to animate fantasy backgrounds or mythical characters into your film? Post audio production will also be required to ensure your film has a professional and balanced sound quality suitable for public viewing.

Music for your film

A driving force for your film to enhance emotional scenes, build tension and induce adrenaline is music! Whether your film requires a distinctive score or existing music by an artist who conveys your scene perfectly, you will need to allocate a music licensing budget.

Typically the music licensing budget will amount to 10% of your overall film budget. It is worth noting this when putting together your film budget!

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